This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

Three Philadelphia-area men are now free thanks to DNA evidence coming to light. A commonwealth judge vacated the murder convictions of Samuel Grasty, Derrick Chappell and Morton Johnson, three men who have maintained their innocence and fought their wrongful convictions for a 1997 killing. Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer, who opposed the motion to vacate the convictions, has a 30-day window to decide whether to appeal.

The latest poll from Franklin & Marshall College shows a more optimistic Pennsylvania, with Gov. Josh Shapiro earning high marks. Results show that 54% of respondents said Shapiro is doing a good or excellent job – the highest number of his first term to date. Shapiro has the highest approval rating for a governor at this point since Tom Ridge almost three decades ago.

Your food delivery drivers could soon be getting a better gig. The app DoorDash is launching a pilot, with Shapiro’s support, to provide its gig workers with support to help them get benefits. The six-month pilot will run from April through September, matching 4% of participating delivery workers’ pre-tip earnings and creating a benefits account for those funds to go toward retirement savings, paid time off and health benefits.

Rocky Ruffner, a Cambria County man who claimed he was Jesus Christ, was arrested after threatening to kill his family. Authorities charged Ruffner with terroristic threats and harassment in connection with the incident – where Ruffner reportedly called the victim as a police officer answered. He told the officer that he was Jesus Christ and was allowed to do whatever he wanted because "he had the authority of God.” 

Republican U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser made headlines this week for not wanting to help Pennsylvania’s neighbor. After President Joe Biden called for federal funding to help repair the recently collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Meuser denounced the proposal as “outrageous.” Comparing the situation to the I-95 collapse in Philadelphia and Fern Hollow Bridge collapse in Pittsburgh, the Tribune-Review wrote in an editorial that it’s “embarrassing … to condemn the same federal help being pledged to Baltimore that was extended to Pennsylvania.”

An alleged behind-the-scenes promise has created a stir in Luzerne County, where Jamie Walsh, a Republican candidate for the state House, said state Rep. Mike Cabell’s campaign manager offered him $10,000 for a future state Senate campaign if he would withdraw from the 117th House district race. While Cabell and his team deny offering any money, he said offers of future support for a candidate happen “all the time.” Cabell and Walsh are set to face off in what is now an even juicier April 23 primary.